Balance
by Jediempress
Summary: Follow up to Unbalanced. Sora has come to some major realizations since Riku left, now he has to decide what to do with them. Yaoi. Complete. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

This is a continuation of Unbalanced. I needed to put a closure to it cause it was nagging at me. I'm sure some of you who read the first won't like this, hence one of the reasons I'm keeping it separate, but its how the story ends. This always was going to be the end result. Probably will end up a two-shot also.

Thanks to all who read and especially those who review.

And like before, don't own 'em.

Balance

Sora wished he could say he'd lost track of the time Riku had been gone. He wished he could say he barely noticed his absence. He wished he could say that he didn't feel a strange emptiness in his chest.

But he couldn't.

Kairi was trying so hard to understand but it clearly wasn't happening. How could she when Sora himself had no idea what was happening to him? He felt awful that she was struggling along with him. He hadn't wanted to drag her into his… weirdness.

They were together everyday, just as she had promised Namine and Roxas yet even together, he felt somehow removed. As if he wasn't completely there. He stood by her side, held her hand, let her lay against him when they were both simply too worn to do anything else. To any one looking, they were the ideal couple. He was comfortable with her but something vital was missing.

"Sora?"

He blinked. He had zoned out again on her. He smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Kai. What was that?"

She sighed and tucked some reddish hair behind her ear. Sora was always like this these days. He was physically present but his mind was far, far away. She didn't want to admit it, but it was like his heart simply wasn't part of his life. He was merely going through the motions.

"There's going to be a party for the blitzball team Friday night. Tidus and Wakka really want you to come."

"Oh, maybe." Sora shrugged. "You know parties aren't really my thing."

"You used to go to the all the time with Riku." She tried not to sound bitter. She really did.

"Only to make sure he didn't drink too much and get himself in trouble. You know how hard he can hit the bottle." Sora countered. "I like being around my friends just not in the party setting."

Kairi frowned. "Look Sora, everyone's beginning to worry about you. Since Riku left, you've been… different."

"What are you talking about?" Sora's words were wary.

"Well…" She began slowly. "You just seem kind of withdrawn."

"Huh? What does that mean? I'm here, aren't I?" He waved a hand. "I haven't gone anywhere. I'm not the one who up and left."

Kairi stared. Deep down she had known why Sora was behaving the way he was but now it was right there in her face. She couldn't deny this any more. Sora didn't need her, didn't depend on her. She wasn't the other half of his soul.

Suddenly she hated Riku. Hated him for being weak. Hated him for leaving Sora broken. She didn't care how messed up Riku thought he was, it didn't give him the right to torment Sora like this. Sora was the one suffering.

She couldn't let Sora see this anger. He wouldn't understand it and if she tried to explain it, he'd simply start defending Riku. Her sweet Sora wouldn't allow her to hate Riku for anything. Taking an invisible breath, she willed herself to calm down. This wasn't Riku's fault. This wasn't anyone's fault.

And that was the most frustrating thing of all. Everything was so much easier when there was some one to blame.

She leaned forward and gently kissed Sora's lips. He looked at her confused when she moved away but didn't say anything. He just gave a bittersweet smile. He understood a whole lot more than she believed.

"I'm sorry, Kai."

"You shouldn't be." Kairi shook her head. "Who we love isn't something we control."

Sora nodded. His eyes grew dark and sad. "I know but, it's so hard to ignore."

"Ignore? Why would you need to do that?"

"I've been trying to ignore this since the day Riku left." Sora looked away. "But it's slowly eating away at me. It got a little better once I admitted it to myself. Once I accepted it but…"

He glanced back at her. "It _hurts_, Kairi. I know letting him go was the right thing but I hate him for going. I felt like he abandoned me somehow. And I'm terrified he's never coming back."

Sora was on the verge of tears. She automatically reached over and wrapped her arms around him. How had all this happened? The fates must have cursed them, all three of them. Were their lives going to always be this painful?

"He promised you he'd be back, right?" She whispered against his ear. There was the barest of nods. "Then he will. Riku has never broken a promise."

"But," Sora drew back a bit. "What if he's different? He's dealing with some major stuff, Kairi. The darkness changes people."

"He hasn't changed yet." She assured him. "His heart's the same and we both know it."

"That's the other thing." Sora wiped tears that hadn't actually fallen. "I can't tell him my feelings have changed. I can't tell him…"

"Why?"

"He doesn't feel the same."

"You don't know that, Sora." Kairi spoke firmly. "And regardless, you need to tell him otherwise it will continue to gnaw at you and turn into something ugly. Love should never be ugly."

Sora blinked rapidly, pulling himself together. His gratitude was written all over his face. "Thank you, Kairi."

"Any time, Sora." Her voice caught a little.

Sora noticed it and took her hand. "You're important to me too, you know. I do love you."

The words were good to hear. She found herself smiling. "I'm glad."

With nothing else to really say, they began walking home, comfortably side-by-side. Each kept their thoughts to themselves, content to know that the other would always have their back. Kairi would always be Sora's dear friend as Sora would always be her protector. They had their roles and were happy to play them.

At her house, Sora turned to her. "Did you want to go to that party?"

Kairi shrugged. "Kinda. It sounded like a good time."

"Well, let's go then." Sora grinned. "If it gets too wild we'll just leave."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

That Friday found the pair hanging out on the play island with about a hundred other teenagers celebrating the blitzball team's division win. The kept themselves somewhat removed from the bulk of it, mostly watching the other's dancing and drinking and just having fun. Selphie was already half-drunk and slinking around, hitting on every available player she came across.

For the most part, the party had been relatively tame.

"Kairi!" One of her friends from one of the clubs called out to her. Sora never could keep track of them all. "Come here, you have got to see this!"

Kairi gave Sora an inquisitive look to which he only shrugged. He took a very small sip of the beer Tidus had shoved into his hand earlier in the night.

"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere."

She grinned and quickly pecked his cheek before running off. Sora watched a moment before sighing and turning toward the shack. For some unknown reason, no one ever went in that direction during this events. Sora didn't get why. It would be the perfect place for an intense make-out session.

He passed through it, climbing the stairs slowly and emerging in the path to the wooden bridge that crossed over to the islet. He hadn't been here since Riku left. He couldn't be here without thinking of the silver haired young man.

He jumped the sideways growing tree and sat there, beer bottle in both hands between his legs, staring at the ocean. How many hours had the two of them spent doing just this? Was it really almost two years since then?

Riku had been gone now for four months, almost to the day. His mother didn't seem to care if he ever came back. Then again Riku'd never had a good relationship with her. Sora's mom took care of him like her own.

He smiled tightly. His mom would be so thrilled if he and Riku ever- He stopped that thought before he could finish it. He could think about things like that now.

Soft steps came behind him. He assumed it was Kairi looking for him. How long had he been up here?

"Hey, Sora."

The gentle yet deep male voice sang to his heart. It sent a surge of euphoria through him but he managed to keep it cool as he slowly turned on the trunk.

Riku was dressed in total black, hair pulled back into a tail with the bangs framing his face. His eyes glowed in the relative darkness but Sora saw the small smile he was wearing. He was absolutely beautiful.

"I'm back."


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the pay off. I really hope the pacing's right. Please leave me some feedback. This was a bit harder to do than I initially thought.

The pair stood facing one another for several long moments. Riku seemed content to simply stand there watching. Sora didn't know why he couldn't look away. Yes, he had begun doubting his friend's return but that didn't explain the suddenly full feeling in his chest nor the tears that were threatening to fall.

Riku suddenly glanced to the side. "I'm sorry for being gone so long."

The words helped Sora snap out of whatever it was he was feeling. "Yeah, well, I barely noticed."

That was a total lie.

A frown tried to pull at the corner of Riku's mouth. He nodded a bit before indicating the commotion down the beach. "Pretty lame party."

"Yeah."

Silence spread between them filled with unspoken words. There was a noticeable tension in the air but neither dared approach it. For now, they only wanted the comfort of the other's presence.

"Maybe we should go liven it up."

Sora titled his head thoughtfully. He tapped his forehead for a second. "Well, maybe if you make me one of those amaretto things…"

Riku laughed. "You're on."

Sora bound over and stopped beside the taller boy. They looked out over the group in the distance. Both were outsiders trying to fit back into a mold they knew they never would. But they always had each other. "I'm glad you're back, Riku."

"So am I, Sora." He slung an arm around small shoulder and steered them toward the bridge. "So am I."

Walking out of the shack, a loud squeal was heard. Riku immediately dropped his arm and Sora felt oddly disappointed. Selphie ran over, dragging Wakka with her. "Oh, my gosh! Riku!"

She threw arms around his neck and nuzzled into him. She was now clearly drunk. Wakka rolled his eyes at her before reaching out to smack knuckles with Riku. "Hey, man, glad you back."

Riku nodded, gazing down to see Selphie was still latched to him. Sora was looking at her rather angrily. Then Riku noticed she was rather suggestively rubbing his chest. "Uh, Selph?"

"Humm?"

"I promised Sora I'd make him a drink."

She drew back quickly. "You're gonna make drinks! Yes!" She whirled around shouting. "Hey guys! Riku's gonna be bartender."

"I didn't say that."

Wakka shook his head in amusement. "No, but she did. Welcome back, ya?"

"Riku!" It was Kairi's turn to wrap arms around Riku, this time from behind. "About time you made it back. You know how difficult it is to deal with Sora 24/7?"

A low chuckle emanated from him. Sora found it rather pleasing to hear. "Sorry, Ki."

He managed to move her before him and gave her a tight hug. Sora watched with a strange sense of jealousy. Where was that coming from? It was Kairi and Riku. It wasn't like Selphie was still all up and over on him.

"So, where's the booze?" Riku drew away from his petite friend. He was watching Sora curiously. "I think Sora needs a real drink."

Wakka started. "Is that the same beer you started with?"

Sora shrugged. "Don't like beer."

"Sora only likes what Riku gives him." Kairi giggled.

"You have any idea how bad that sounded?" Riku commented.

Sora was blushing furiously, hiding his face in his hands. Of course Kairi knew. She also knew- Sora's thoughts suddenly stopped. No, he wasn't going there. He came to this party to not think about those things.

The small group had wandered over to the makeshift bar up on the platform where Tidus seemed fond of hanging out. As they had gone, several had noticed Riku and offered greetings and more than a few appreciative looks from girls and guys alike.

Sora really wished they'd stop looking. It was always like this but it was really bothering him tonight. Riku was _his_ friend. He silently chastised himself. He was getting way too possessive.

Riku ended up playing bartender most for the night. Selphie was never very far from him, always finding excuses to touch him. Sora watched from a distance, slowly downing mixed drink after mixed drink. Sora rarely drank and had certainly never been even remotely drunk but the idea was becoming rather appealing.

He wouldn't of course. One, it simply wasn't his thing and two, he knew Riku was purposely watering down everything he gave him.

Eventually, Riku was able to get away only to be dragged off by Selphie. Sora lost track of them in the crowd and sulked off to the side. Damn, Riku for making him feel this… weird.

"Sora? You okay?" Kairi's quiet voice spoke almost directly into his ear.

"Perfect."

She sat beside him and gave him a concerned look. "Where's Riku?"

"Probably making out with Selphie. She's been all over him all night." He spoke bitterly.

Kairi waited a moment before softly commenting. "I noticed that. There's been a few other girls flirting with him. He's a really sexy guy, good looking, mysterious, has that whole bad boy thing going."

"This isn't helping, Kai."

"A few of them asked me if he was available." She informed him casually. "I told them he was already interested in someone."

Sora whipped his head in her direction. "He is? Who?"

The pain in his voice was complete. Kairi shook her head. "You've been so busy being jealous you really haven't noticed."

"Noticed what, Kairi?" He really wasn't in the mood for this. If Riku liked someone, he wanted to know.

"How he brushes of all those girls, how Selphie tries so hard to get some kind of reaction from Riku but gets nothing, how he's kept his attention solely on you."

Sora stared at her a long moment. None of those things could possibly be true. Especially not the last one. Riku didn't like him like that, did he? Sora had been trying to hard to convince himself that the strange complicated feeling he'd been having toward his best male friend could never be returned. Kairi had now shattered that illusion and forced him to consider the very real possibility.

"Selphie took him to the shack." Kairi stood smoothing out her skirt. "There's no time like the present."

Sora set his jaw, then got up determinedly. "You're right, Kairi. I have to get this figured out."

"Good," She smiled sadly as he turned and walked steadily away. There went her last chance but she had to let it go. Neither of her best friends would be happy until they realized just how strong their feelings for each other were.

Sora marched across the sand, focusing his thoughts on one thing. He had to talk to Riku. About five yards out, Selphie slipped out of the shack's crooked door. She glanced up and upon seeing him, a weak smiled crossed her face. Her clothes were disheveled and her hair out of place.

She sauntered up to Sora and seemed to be considering something. Suddenly, she giggled and patted his head. "You have no idea how lucky you are."

He looked at her blankly before she placed a kiss on his nose and stumbled off.

He had no idea what that was about. Given her appearance, he could only assume something must have happened with Riku. How far had they gone? With renewed determination, Sora continued to the shack and with a deep breath, went in.

Riku was sitting on the bottom step, hands clasped before him. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top but other than that looked completely normal. He studied the floor in front of him.

Sora tilted his head. "What happened?"

Riku shrugged. "Nothing. She wanted to, I didn't. She asked why, I told her, she left."

Not entirely sure why, Sora came over and knelt on the floor. He looked up at Riku's shadowed eyes. "I'm glad."

Green met blue questioningly. Sora didn't think about his words, he just said them. "It hurt's to think of you with anyone else. I don't know why but I get this pain in my heart when I think about it."

An unfathomable span of time passed as the two simply regarded each other. The confession hung between them, waiting to see who would take it and what they would do with it.

Riku hesitantly reached out a hand and lightly brushed Sora's face. Sora's eyes fluttered and he let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He opened them fully and found the words easy. "Riku, I think-"

"I love you." Riku quietly spoke the words, completing the circuit between them

Sora felt his heart burst. And then Riku was there, pressed against him. His head dipped down and lips fell upon Sora's. There was connection that neither had realized they needed but now couldn't imagine their lives without.

Riku couldn't stop smiling when he drew away, taking in Sora's slightly flushed face and feeling more complete than he had in a long time. He traced Sora's face again. "I've spent so much time looking firmly outside me, never seeing that I was the cause of my problems. When I finally searched my heart, all I found was you."

Sora had lost the ability to speak so he did the only thing he could think of. He straightened out and brought his lips again to Riku's. This kiss went on much longer, still cautious, still uncertain. He didn't know exactly what to make of this but he knew he never wanted to be apart from the silver haired boy again.

They held each other close, no longer talking, trading kisses and light touches. All sense of time was lost to the new feeling of unity they had found with each other.

It wasn't until there was a soft knock on wood that the spell broke. Sora ducked his head, pink coloring his face. Riku merely smiled at him reassuringly.

"It's alright, Kairi."

A head of reddish hair poked it's way around the door. Kairi smiled at the two still wrapped in each others arms. "Tidus is gonna walk with me home so you don't have to worry about it."

Sora barely nodded.

She bit her lip, torn between crying and laughing. "It's finally done, huh?"

Riku gave her a confused look.

"You both found your balance."

"Oh," He glanced down at the mess of brown spikes against his chest. "I guess we did."


End file.
